The agricultural community has, for quite some time, shown great interest in compost teas as they can be used to address plant, foliar and root diseases as well as providing mechanisms for transforming nutrients for plants and their surrounding support media and enhancing the soil foodweb. Such teas offer these benefits through aerobic microorganisms which are introduced into an aqueous medium and extracted through aeration and agitation, the density of which is multiplied by introducing nutrient sources to the microorganism-containing teas.
The agricultural community, either through self policing or in addressing pressures placed upon it by governmental agencies and watch dog special interest groups, has felt the need to reduce or entirely eliminate certain pesticides and synthetic fertilizers which can often times foul water supplies and the surrounding eco systems. Not only are certain pesticides difficult to remove from edible crops but bird and other animal life can become sick and spread disease as a result of ingesting certain non-organic crop pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. As such, compost teas are being viewed more and more as primary plant protection, nutritional transformative mechanisms and soil enhancing and disease control supplements as they provide a natural and safe alternative to current widely employed practices.
Although there are a number of techniques for producing compost teas, they generally all include the use of a high quality compost which builds a complex microbiologically enhanced aqueous complex from which the organic species are extracted. For example, microorganism sources such as worm casting, compost, humus and leaf mold are added to a liquid medium which can also include the inoculation of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes and nutrient sources for the microorganisms. The beneficial microorganisms are then extracted from the liquid culturing medium through an aeration process in vessels filled with non-chlorine/chloramines pure water. Such techniques are well known to this art. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,727,090 and 6,767,381 and the references cited therein, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In following the teachings of the prior art, various microorganisms are cultured in a liquid medium along with food for the microorganisms. The medium is actively aerated in vessels for 12, 24 or 36 hour periods to maintain dissolved oxygen levels above approximately 6.0 ppm throughout the entire process. The resulting liquid is decanted and stabilized or immediately applied to a dry mix for stabilization. Upon doing so, target levels of organism species, upon extraction are sought to be at least active bacteria (10 μg/ml), total bacteria (150 μg/ml), active fungi (2 μg/ml), total fungi (2 μg/ml), flagellates (1,000), amoeboe (1,000), ciliates (20), and nematodes (2).
Although, as noted previously, the use of compost teas in the agricultural industry is well known, their use is not without recognized limitations. Compost teas are traditionally maintained in a liquid state, applied as a soil drench, or sprayed on leaf and plant surfaces. In foliar applications, it is critical that the microorganisms be maintained in an active state. If most of the microorganisms are dormant, they will not adhere to the leaf surface. They must be in an active state when they reach the leaf surface to facilitate attachment to that surface. Maintaining viability of the microorganisms in aqueous media is difficult indeed. Suitable nutrients must be introduced and their levels maintained. Further, temperature and other environmental conditions must be considered while extended shelf life of such products is generally almost impossible to achieve.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a system for creating and maintaining an aerobic microbial biomass which can be maintained in a dry or liquid state for extended periods while maintaining its viability for future use as a plant protecting mechanism, a nutrient transformative medium and a soil enhancing vehicle.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide in combination an aerobic microbial biomass and viability supporting container wherein a relatively small percentage of microorganisms contained therein are maintained in an active state while a relatively high percentage of microorganisms are maintained as viable.
These and further objects will be more readily appreciated when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.